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Consortium bags Daewoo
Electronics

TO KEEP GOING: An employee of Daewoo Electronics showing the company's products in Seoul recently.

Deal involving Videocon is valued at $700 m

SEOUL: Videocon on Monday said a consortium led by
it had reached an agreement to acquire South Korea's
debt-burdened Daewoo Electronics for $700 million (Rs.
3,150 crore). The agreement was signed on October 20 by
a consortium led by Videocon and creditors of the
troubled South Korean firm, which was earlier part of
the Daewoo group that wound up in 1999 after running up
a debt of about $80 billion.

"Videocon-led consortium (has) entered into an
agreement for acquiring Daewoo (Electronics) at $700
million,'' a company official confirmed to PTI.
Videocon and the U.S.-based equity fund Ripplewood had
jointly bid for Daewoo Electronics, after it was put on
the block by its lenders.

In a separate statement, the Creditor Financial
Institutions Committee for Daewoo Electronics said:
"The consortium was selected... as an exclusive
negotiation partner based on various factors including
financial capacity, complementarity of businesses,
track record in various acquisitions, including
commitment toward ongoing investments...''

The deal will mark Videocon's third purchase in the
last one year after Thompson's global picture tube
business for 240 million euros (Rs. 1,260 crore) and
loss making Indian subsidiary of AB Electrolux,
Sweden.

The completion of the transaction is subject to
various formalities and approvals. PTI